Surftex363

Im a very active person who is interested in road biking because i cant run during the winter due to past ankle surgeries.

I live in a small town with a very good local bike shop who carries Felt and Marin.

I am looking to spend 800 give or take a hundered or so, and i looked at the Felt z 90 and liked that.


Can you please give me some input on these brands and what i should look for or stay away from.

thanks
-Joe

Also, im 6'2 and 190.

10 Wheels

6'2", 200 lbs, Felt F-80, bought New in March this yr.
8700 miles love it.
Go Felt....Enjoy your rides.
66 y/o

eb314

Felt bikes look cool, although I've never ridden one. Here's the deal though, $800 is a lot of money to spend on a bike. It might not be a lot compared to what you could buy, because you could easily spend 6k on a bike and not even be top of the line. But, to a normal person $800 is more than they'd ever dream of spending on a bike.

What I'm trying to say is that you aren't going to get a "bad" bike as long as it fits you, which is your most important thing. Just focus on having fun riding, and if you get more into the sport you'll eventually upgrade bikes anyway. So I guess what I'm saying is that it doesn't REALLY matter what your first bike is, as long as it fits. If you wanted to save money, you could even buy used. Although that isn't as fun, and you'd have to do maintenance yourself (or spend a fortune at the LBS)

Just keep in mind that you're going to need more $$ than just the bike.

shoes - $60 (clip-in) (don't need shoes/pedals right away, but eventually you'll want them - they add more than you'd think)
Pedals - $50
Bibs/shorts - $40
Jersey - $30
Helmet - $30-$200
Pump - $30
Extra tubes - $10
Allen wrench set - $5
Tire levers - $3

And that isn't even including ballin' sunglasses. Oh yeah, if you plan on crashing gloves would be good too. Not trying to scare you away, but don't spend all your money on the bike and have nothing left for gear.

That said, I was in your boat. I screwed up my legs running and had stress fractures in both legs + foot that took a year to fully heal, so I started racing bikes. Way more fun to train, way more fun to race, great exercise.

10 Wheels

Paid $800 for mine, It was on sale.
Helmet 99 cents Goodwill
Rockport walking shoes $29
Nashbar shorts $15
Jersey $15 Nashbar
Bar bag, Seat bag, Stem bag $1 each Goodwill

Corvette, Not Mine.

dcbikeguy

I gotta say, that is some very impressive tight-wad-iness. Well done.

roccobike

Number 1 is the fit. Make sure the sales person is fitting you correctly, not selling just what he has in the store. If it is at all possible, go to more than one LBS for a fitting.
After that, I'd buy as much bike as I could afford.
If you can find a 08 (or 07) leftover at a good price, go for it. I've purchased three bikes in the last four years, all leftovers, and typically save at least 20% and as much as 33%.
If you want to stay local, those are two good brands. Go with the one you like best.

Surftex363

Thanks a bunch guys this is all great information. I went by the bike shop today to ask him about the z 90 and it was closed. damn living in a small town...

But yeah, there is another bike shop about 45 minutes away that i will check out before i finalize a bike purchase. And i understand that you need more money for biking that just the price tag of the bike, im taking that into consideration.
and also, im going to go for the best bike i can get, im 18 right now and dont have a real steady income cause im a student and will be for another 5 years. so, i want to get a bike that will last me and im not gonna be taking it slow on it either, im a pretty big runner and swimmer right now and want to hit riding hard in the winter.

Tariq08

i love my felt, and for that price i think it would be one of the best you can get component wise

i spent about 1800 for my f4, looking back i could have gotten a better bike used, but there's something special about getting something brand new too, plus it was my first bike so i wanted to get it from a shop since i didn't know what the hell i was doing on my own

but yeah, the gear will run you a couple hundred extra at least, if you're into fitness and you're like me you want to get some good stuff, clipless pedals, cleats, computer ect. you can get away with being cheap on a helmet but once you try out a giro atmos or something like that it will be very difficult to go back to anything of less quality. anyway, you will love cycling, i used to run 4 miles a day 6 days a week and i haven't ran once since i got my bike lol.

Surftex363

Yeah, I run about 3 something miles about 5 times a week and im sure ill bike alot more than run, but you cant replace running, plus, you cant go out and get a good ride in in 20 minutes. If i want a quick run i just up the pace and blow some serious steam for 20 minutes and im good to go.

rollin

+1 except the helmet, not sure I would buy a 2nd hand helmet no matter how cheap.

rollin

Road cyclist grin - Priceless...

Surftex363

Another question.

how much easier is riding a road bike gonna be in terms of speed and distance than a mountain bike?

Greatly improved? a little iproved? Insanely?

Hickeydog

You will feel the difference. And the farther you go, the more a road bike makes sense.

K&K_Dad

till you get 'used to it' you're probably not going to see it immediately.. but after a few rides you'll really see improvements... but it's not bears you have to watch out for..(well maybe) it's the big metal beast!

Surftex363

ok thanks, cause i have a 6 or so year old Giant mountain bike and havent ridden that thing for years, and i wasnt gonna start training on that thing before I aquired my road bike cause i thought it would be incredicbly difficult on the mountain bike.

And what are some things to stay away from in a new bike. I just want to be sure im not accidently stepping into a crap hole with some components on a new bike.

AgentRedlum

After riding my road bike for a while I went back to my MTB for a quick ride around the block with my daughter. The MTB is a total dog. Much less efficient. I didn't really notice the difference until I went back to it after an extended hiatus.

alanbikehouston

Surf, you mention you already own a mountain bike. A MTB is a great way to get in shape. Lance Armstrong has been riding (and racing) a mountain bike the past few months to get in shape to return to road racing. And, with light, slick tires, mountain bikes are ideal for short trips in the city, which is why many experienced bike messengers prefer them.

So, consider getting your mountain bike tuned up, get some nice, light slick tires, and use your mountain bike for your fitness riding. When you are ready to ride for two or three hours at a time, you might buy a road bike. But, remember, for the goal of getting fit, a mountain bike will be as good or better than a road bike.

Speed? Unless you are being paid to ride, "speed" is irrelevant...it has nothing to do with getting fit, or enjoying a bike ride. But, on a regular 20 mile urban circuit that I ride (dozens of red lights and stop signs...stop and go riding) my "best time" on a road bike is only a couple of minutes faster than my best time on a mountain bike. On five mile or ten mile urban rides, the limit on speed is your legs and your lungs, not which bike you are riding.

Downtown bike messengers find mountain bikes FASTER for one mile runs, because they can go "straight line" and not be dodging potholes and broken concrete like the guys on road bikes.

Tariq08

true, but running is just really, really boring next to riding lol

Surftex363

Very nice post. Thank you.

I forgot if i mentioned this before, but im actually planning on doing races of some sort, there arent alot around here cause i live by corpus christi texas which isnt the biggest city ever, but there some good ones. Im not really worried about getting into shape as in finding an easier mean of working out than running because its really tough on my ankle in the cooler weather.

This past summer i have lost 80 pounds from running and Im in pretty decent shape now, I dont have a runners body cause i still weight 185 but im quite muscular, i used to bench press 405 pounds last spring so i really just lost all the bulk and went lean.

So, what im getting is, i want to just start doing long distance rides, at least i think that i will be able to. I really liked the idea of the mountain bike with slick wheels but i dont need it, cause im pretty sure the number of stop lights in my town is less than 20. So its really just going to be long long stretches of road.

I will to the local bike dude here and bring that idea up with him.

Surftex363

I hope someone comes back to this but.

i went to the LBS again today and talked to the guy for a while. They are having a fall sale that ends saturday. I found a Felt SRD for 516$ and a Felt F80 for 699$. I really like the F80, and its has much better componentry than the SRD, but is a bit more epensive. He talked about how the F80 is a more leaning forward bike which is better for speed if i plan on racing.

so the next question is, for a beginner (who will be competative eventually) which bike do you recommend the most?

oh, and the sale ends saturday and the SRD will be 700 again and the f80 goes up to 999$...

10 Wheels

Get the F-80. I have Put 7,000 miles on mine since March 20 th.

Surftex363

Ok, and i think he said it was a 56. Im 6'2 and have a little under a 32 inch inseam. does that sound right. I dont have like really long legs or anything, im pretty proportional.

10 Wheels

I am 6' 2' with 35 " inseam. My Felt is a 60 CM which is a Perfect Fit for me.

Do you get a Free Fit with the bike?
56 CM would work if 32" inseam " is an accurate measurement.

Have Them Fit you on the Bike Before you buy it and Then Test Ride it.

What is the size on the other Felt SRD ?

You will Love the F-80 if it Fits You.

Surftex363

The SRD is also a 56 i think. But he said that because the F80 is a much more forward leaning ride it makes it fit perfect (like maybe a 56 was a tad small on the SRD). or he was telling me this to push me to buy the F80...

But, i dont know what a proper fit is. Like, i test rode both of them today and a cyclecross or whatever bike (f1x or something) which was out of my price range and i like the f1x and the F80.

Could you tell me some procedures he should preform before selling me this bike to know that i am correctly fit to it without just eye balling it. I dont want him to just sell me a bike that he has in stock cause he wants a sale, but he doesnt seem like that kind of guy.

10 Wheels

That is a great price on the F-80.
My fit involved a laser light.
They put the bike on a stand.
You need to be in your cycle wear, shorts, shoes.
They adjust seat height, This sets the proper angle at your knees, and adjust seat forward position, Then they adjust handle bar height and reach to Fit your body.